One year ago today I said goodbye to Fister

Today, it is a year ago I had to say goodbye to my dear precious Fister - I miss him SO much! He was a really special boy and he made my life a happier one.

Since then, I have looked after other cats, but I have to say, none of them comes close to what Fister was, although I do like them. Lucy, who was here for three weeks would even lay on top of me.

As you may remember, Fisterís own vet was away sick at the time, but when he came back, I didnít hear a word from him, and I was very disappointed, because I had e-mailed him some questions. Then, about a month ago, he contacted me on FB and we are friends there, now. He said:

ď.... to my horror were four old messages, including yours. I'm really sorry for not having read it at the time, even though it would not have changed anything. I believe the decision to give him peace was right. I had fallen and got a major concussion. It gave transient nausea, headaches and dizziness, but worst of all, I lost my sense of smell and taste. It has never returned :-( Hope you have recovered somewhat, although the loss was great. Fister was obviously much loved. Come by and say hello one day ...Ē I will.

Here are few of Fisterís latest pictures.

This one is from a month before I said goodbye to him.

From January 2013

Fister, I miss you very much and will keep you in heart forever.
I hope you are giving John a lot of headbumpies at the RB.

"I don't know which weapons will be used in the third World war, but in the fourth, it will be sticks and stones" --- Albert Einstein.

What beautiful pictures, Randi, and what a touching message from your vet. He was absolutely right: ".. the loss was great. Fister was obviously much loved." I'm glad the vet contacted you and let you know why he hadn't been in touch before.

Condolences to you on this sad anniversary, and may your precious memories help to bring you some comfort. Fister and you are together always.

{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}} and ~~~~~~~PURRS~~~~~~~ and from Pat and cats

I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.

Thank you, eveyone! Johanna, see if you can get a picture of that boy down the road.

KK, I think Fister was sleeping there, he often slept with his eyes open. Perhaps a habit from his first year living in the yard, trying to keep an eye on what happened around him. Although he could be a tough boy, he was also a nervous cat, sometimes.

"I don't know which weapons will be used in the third World war, but in the fourth, it will be sticks and stones" --- Albert Einstein.

And now a year later Fister is one of the main Owesome Orange Angels, and he and Michael, and all of the many Orange Angels are helping their fellow Animal Angels acclimate to
their new lives as Angels and show them the ropes when it comes to Hotels and Diners.
Fister misses you so much Randi , and keep your senses open as Fister and Angel Companions will drop by to see you.
Until we ae all reunited in love.
One Fine Day

"That's the power of kittens (and puppies too, of course): They can reduce us to quivering masses of Jell-O in about two seconds flat and make us like it. Good thing they don't have opposable thumbs or they'd surely have taken over the world by now." -- Paul Lukas

To me, the "firsts" are always so intolerably difficult: the first day, the first week, month, year. . . . They encompass all the other firsts - birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. It's not necessarily easier after the first year, but at least we can tell ourselves that we survived this day before, and we can do it again.

I never refer to what my departed furkid "was." Whatever s/he *was* on Earth, s/he still is at the Bridge. The love, the affection, the sense of humor - they're all still there. Here's a little tidbit that might validate that: My Merlin was one of those very special cats; we were bonded. However, he never thought of me as "mom"; I was simply "the woman" who kept the litterbox clean and the food dish full. I never, ever doubted his superiority to me; obviously, I was the less intelligent one in our relationship. On the second anniversary of his transition to the Bridge, I released a balloon from a mountaintop near my cabin in WV; as I was driving back to the cabin on a one-lane unpaved road, I had to stop to let *two turkeys* cross in front of me! The significance did not escape me: turkeys are the stereotype for "stupid," and it was Merlin's *two-year* anniversary at the Bridge. I smiled, knowing that his sense of humor is intact.

Think of Fister that way: just the same wonderful fellow he was on Earth he is now, only enhanced, at the Bridge. Rest assured that Fister is forever all he ever was, only better.